12 Hours
by Tonibolognie
Summary: An AU Jax and Tara story. What happens when the good doctor and bad boy biker cross paths? How is it possible that in 12 hours their whole lives change?
1. Chapter 1

Some people say that in an hour your whole life can change.

I never believed that until tonight happened. Truth is, it took twelve hours for my whole life to change.

"Ticket ma'am?" asked the conductor.

The kind voice of the old man standing next me broke me out of my trance; the recent memories enveloping me like a fog and making me oblivious to everything else around me, even my train fare.

I reached into my purse to grab my ticket. I had stuck it in the side compartment of my wallet.

I reached for it and noticed a folded up receipt next to it. I knew I had not put the receipt there. With one hand, I handed the ticket to the conductor; with the other, I unfolded the receipt.

_The best $3.49 I have ever spent. Don't ever forget._

_Yours always, Jax._

Oblivious to the conductor trying to hand me back my now punched ticket; I let it fall to the ground. I memorized the written message on top of the Starbucks receipt, my only tangible piece that these past twelve hours were not a dream. I noticed his hand writing was neat, but masculine. I ran my finger over the curl in the J, like I had ran my fingers through his hair only a few hours before. I brought the receipt to my nose, hoping to get a whiff of the tobacco, cologne and air from the open road that gave him his unique, but irresistible sent. I was sure his scent could no longer be smelt on me and that knowledge made my soul cry.

How could I fall in love with a man in only twelve hours?

I didn't know how it happened, but it did.

I was not nor have I ever been a hopeless romantic. I did not believe in love at first sight. I was a doctor—a women of science. A woman who believed in rational thought and scientific theory. My life was a never ending hypothesis and I was constantly trying to prove it with facts and experiments.

Emotions and fantasy had no place in my life.

But that was until I met him.

Now, I felt nothing but emotion. Gone were the rational thought and logical ideas. He broke every wall I had ever put up. He filled my body and my heart with his own. I could still feel him moving inside of me and breathing words of devotion in my ear.

_I love you Tara. I always will_

I held on to the receipt with my life, feeling if I let go of it, I would let go of him. I could not lose him twice.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we will be arriving in San Diego in a little over two hours. So relax and thank you for traveling Amtrak."

I had two hours to think and reminisce. I wished his hands were still on body. I wished his blue eyes were still staring into mine.

But he was gone, left behind. He had begged me to come with him, but I couldn't. I had to go home. I was a woman with responsibilities. I could not just hop on the back of his motorcycle and drive off into the sunset.

That is what my logical mind was saying. My now emotional heart was telling me to pull the emergency brake and stop the train so I could jump off and go back to him.

I leaned my head against the window and watched the trees wiz past me in a blurry jumble clump. I wanted to go back. I needed him, wanted him.

Twelve hours? How could I fall in love in twelve hours?

With my hand still clutching the receipt, I closed my now tear filled eyes and thought of how I now belonged to Jax Teller. And it only took him twelve hours to do it me.


	2. Hour 1

"What do you mean my train has been canceled?"

The teenager behind the plate glass window didn't even pretend to care. He just kept tapping on his damn iPhone. No matter how hard I stared and shot him daggers with my eyes, he did not take his attention away from that iPhone.

The past 48 hours had been both physical and emotionally exhausting for me. I was tired, cranky and not in the mood to deal with teenage angst. Two days ago I was summoned to Charming, California to assist with a special case at the local hospital. Being one of the best pediatric surgeons in California, I was constantly recruited to numerous hospitals for my skill set. A baby boy was born ten weeks premature at St. Thomas hospital to a crank addict for a mother and a father that was nowhere to be found. I had tried to call the father, but all I had was a phone number that was never picked up. I left him a few messages, but he never returned them.

The baby boy had a congenital heart defect and a tear in his abdomen. I was able to repair the damage and hopefully save his life. His odds were still against him when I left the hospital earlier in the day, but I had done all I could do.

On my way out of the hospital, I went to tell his mother, but she had somehow sneaked crank in the hospital and overdosed. She was now in sedated detox. I stared at her in that hospital, silently cursing her for almost killing her son. Some people just did not deserve to be parents. I don't know why this case affected me so much, but I could not shake that sight of that little baby on my operating table with no one in his corner.

I was over Charming and just wanted to go home.

"Don't know why," he said, barely looking up from his iPhone. "Just know it's been canceled."

I put my bags down and stared at the unresponsive teen.

"Look, I know my problems are not as exciting as the latest Snapchat or who Kim Kardashian is fucking this week. But I am tired, cranky and I have no idea where the hell Charming is on a map, but I know I am now stuck here until the next train comes through. At least you can do is give me a little bit of help. So, when the hell is the next train to San Diego and out of this crap hole?"

The teen finally looked up at me. I could see the utter disdain for me in his eyes. I did not care.

"6am."

"Are you serious?" I said to him already knowing the answer I would get.

He looked back down at his phone and I wanted to punch him.

I was just about to rip him a new one when my cell phone rang.

I looked down at the phone to see my fiancées' picture pop up.

"Hey Joshie," I said, instantly hating that I had to say that nickname that Josh had given himself.

"Hey Tar-Tar. Just checking in."

I would have found this cute, if he did not just check on my ten minutes ago. And I despised being called Tar-Tar. I had told him that numerous times, but he still called me that. He said it was a term of endearment. Truthfully, it made my skin crawl.

"Just got to the counter and my train has been canceled." I said walking away from the ticket counter.

"What do you mean your train was canceled? You are supposed to be home tonight. We have dinner plans."

I could hear Josh start to get heated. When he got heated, he could become incredibly unreasonable.

"Hey Joshie, "I said. "You know I want to be home. I want to get out of this hell hole. I miss you so much"

I heard Josh's breathing slow down a bit. I wanted to go home, but being away from him did have its bonus. He had become very clingy and controlling lately. And I did not like it. I had already gotten yelled at over voice message, when he got home and saw my note about rushing to Charming. Although he knew how in demand my skills were, he still gave me grief every time I had to leave home to work

"I know Tar-Tar. But you should have known better than even to go. You know I don't like it when you are this far away."

I stopped and sat down on a bench at the deserted train station.

"I know Josh. And I am sorry. I just needed to help the baby."

I happened to catch my reflection in the glass on the vending machine in front of me. If I was not watching myself, I would not believe I had even uttered those words. I had just apologized for doing my job. I could not believe what I had become, or even, what I was allowing him to turn me into.

"Tara, are you listening to me? I want you home now!"

I stopped staring at my reflection and turned my attention back to Josh.

"The next train out is at 6am." I said quietly, knowing the reaction I would get

"WHAT?"

"Look, Josh, I know you are mad and so am I. Let me go see if I can rent a car or something. I will call you as soon as I know something."

I heard the tone in his voice which meant that there would be trouble when i got home.

"We will discuss this when you get home, Tara. We will discuss all of this."

With that, he hung up the phone.

I put the phone down. I stood up and glanced at my reflection again. How far I had come, or should I say, how far I had fallen.

Our relationship had started going downhill since we got engaged. He needed to know where I was and what I was doing all the time. At first I thought it was cute that someone cared that much. Now, it was scaring me.

I shook myself out of my thoughts and walked back over to my nemesis behind the glass. I needed to get out of here.

"Since, I am stuck here, is there a diner or a hotel nearby?"

Once again, he did not bother to give me a look.

"Coffee shop next door, nearest hotel is in Lodi."

I knew better than to ask him anymore questions. I picked up my bag and walked to the coffee shop.

The shop was right next to the train station. I entered the shop to a ringing bell and a customer already at the counter.

I walked behind the man and noticed he wore a leather vest that said _Sons of Anarchy._ I guess he was one of the owners of the two motorcycles parked outside.

"No charge Piney. Give my best to the guys," the women behind the counter said.

"Thanks Sweetheart." He said with a gravel tone to his voice. When he turned around, he made eye contact with me. I noticed the oxygen tubes in his nose and the years on his face. He carried two coffees and a bag of pastries.

"Ma'am." He said nodding at me.

I smiled at the man and walked up to counter

"Large coffee, black, two sugars." I said to the women behind the counter.

She smiled and proceeded to get my coffee.

"Excuse me, do you know if there is a hotel or a car rental place nearby. My train just got canceled." I asked, hoping I would get a better answer than I got from the Justin Bieber wannabe next door.

The women smiled again and handed me my coffee.

"It is Sunday. Pretty much everything is closed on Sunday here in Charming. The nearest hotel is in Lodi. You might be able to get a cab, but taxis stop running here at 6pm. "

I looked at my watch. It was well after 6pm.

"I guess I should be happy that you are still open." I said handing the women a five dollar bill.

She smiled again and gave me my change

"Thanks, "I said leaving a dollar on the counter and resigning myself to sleeping on the wooden bench at the train station.

She gave me another friendly nod and I walked out the door.

The sun was setting and it gave Charming a bit of an ethereal glow. I noticed that the older man was leaning on his bike sipping his coffee.

I turned to start walking back to the train station when i ran right into a man on a cell phone; spilling mine and his hot coffee all over me.

"SHIT!" I said as the hot coffee splattered all over my clothes and the man I ran into.

"Fuck lady watch where you are going," the guy said. "Fuck, are you blind?"

"I'll call you back." he said, hanging up the phone.

He was trying to wipe the coffee off his leather vest; the same leather vest as the older gentlemen wore in the shop. He took his sunglass off and proceeded to curse me off.

"I do not have fucking time to deal with a chick who can't walk and drink coffee at the same time." He said, his blue eyes filled with rage.

At that moment, I had had it with Charming, traveling and everything that had to do with this shit hole town.

"Me? Watch where I am going? "I screamed at him. I did not care that the few people who were on the street, stopped to stare at the two people covered in French roast. This blonde hair dick was going to get a piece of my mind.

"Maybe if you could walk and talk at the same time you would have seen me. And for you information, I am not a chick, I am a doctor. A doctor who saves lives with these hands you just burnt with your hot coffee. And the only reason I am in the shit hole town was to save a life. But I guess you would know nothing about that."

For a moment he looked shocked, than back to angry. But I did not care, I was on roll.

"Here's a few dollars, " I said throwing the change from the coffee shop at him. "I'll pay your dry cleaning bill. Don't want your vest to get stained. Now, get the fuck out of my way."

I pushed passed him and walked back to the train station.

* * *

"You have got to be kidding me." I said looking in the mirror of the ladies room of the train station.

The coffee got everywhere. My pink t-shirt was covered and my jacket was splattered in coffee. And the best part, my jeans looked like I peed myself. I washed my hands and face in the sink. Luckily the coffee was not that hot and I was not seriously burned anywhere.

"Fucking piece of shit." I said, thinking of the idiot who ran into me.

I bent down to my bag to see if I had any clean clothes. Sorting through my laundry bag, I noticed that everything was either stained or smelled of medical waste.

"Great." I said. I was now going to sit in wet clothes for the next 12 hours.

I heard my phone vibrating. I saw that it was Josh. I could not deal with him right now. I pushed ignore and knew I would deal with the consequences later.

I zipped up my bag and made my way out of the bathroom.

I started walking towards the wooden bench where I would be spending my night when I heard a voice.

"It's not a vest, its kuet."

I turned around to see a white t-shirt covered in coffee.

"Does it look like I really care?" I said to the guy who had put the cherry on the sundae of my Charming trip.

"No it doesn't."

He looked down at his white sneakers, now stained with coffee. When he looked up again, his blue eyes now looked embarrassed.

"I am sorry I ran into you." He said quickly, almost like he was not used to apologizing.

He looked at me again, and I can see actual remorse in his eyes.

At that moment all my pent up aggression seemed to disappear.

"It's ok. It has just been a shit day." I said. "My train home was canceled and now I can't get train home until the morning."

"Do you need a place to crash? We have a clubhouse with dorms. It is the least I could do."

I smiled at him.

"Thanks, but I don't know you and this has horror movie written all over it. New girl, strange town, goes off with guy on motorcycle never to be seen again. They write Lifetime movies about this. "

He laughed.

"Look darlin', I promise nothing will happen to you. I can give you a place to crash and a ride back here for your train in the morning. You can either stay here, and deal with the crank whores that fill this place at night. Or come with me and my friend Piney and have a safe night where you can clean your clothes and get a hot meal. Choice is yours."

When he said crank whore, I could not help but think of the baby boy and his mother who almost killed him. I knew I did not want to be around those people.

"If I am going to come with you, I should at least your name." I said, realizing I did not have any better options.

He extended his hand.

"Jax Teller."

I shook his hand.

"Tara Knowles." I said.

For a moment, I thought I saw a flash of recognition in his eyes, but it quickly vanished.

"Have you ever ridden on a motorcycle before?" he asked with a smile.


	3. Hour 2

**Hour 2**

"Well, this is it. Home sweet home."

I stood in the parking lot of Teller-Morrow Auto Repair and stared at a dilapidated looking club house with reapers and the words _Sons of Anarchy _painted all over.

It was official: I was going to die.

I looked over at Jax.

"It looks…charming." I said simply.

Jax smiled and let out a small chuckle.

"Relax darlin'. Nothing is going to happen to you here except a good night sleep and clean, dry clothes. Maybe a really good hot meal too, if Gemma is cooking."

"Gemma?" I said to him as he started walking to the club house.

"My mother." He answered. "Come on, follow me."

I followed Jax into the club house.

He opened the door and a cloud of thick smoke came bellowing out. I tried not to cough but I could not stifle it.

Jax looked at me again.

"We don't follow those non-smoking rules. Hope you don't mind."

What was I going to do, complain?

I just smiled as he led me further into the Sons of Anarchy dungeon. I could just picture that headline in the paper:

**Renowned surgeon killed by motorcycle gang**

**_Stupid doctor went on a motorcycle ride with a man who almost scalded her to death never to be seen again. _**

As we made our way in, we came to a bar area. The smell of cigarettes, stale beer and sex seemed permeated in the air. Two scantily clad women were cleaning up the remnants of what seemed to be a party. Looking around, I found myself justifying my fears more. I don't think the stripper pole, pool table and wall of mug shots that welcomed me into the sacred Sons of Anarchy space, put any of my worst case scenarios at ease. Letting out a slow breath, I noticed two other guys wearing the same kuets that Jax wore, standing at the bar.

"Yo", he said to the two guys.

The two men looked over and nodded. One of the men had very noticeable scars; they reminded me of a case I worked on when I did my plastics rotation during my residency. The plastic surgeon was able to mend the face of a boy who had his slit during a robbery. I could tell this man had not received the medical attention he needed.

"What Jackie-Boy, she looks a little too high class for you," the man said with a Scottish accent.

"What is that on your shirt?" the other guys said. "Or should I ask, what is all over the both of you?"

"Coffee," I answered. "Long story."

"This is Dr. Tara Knowles. Her train got canceled and we had a little mishap, so she is going to bunk here for the night. "

I stuck out my hand.

"Nice to meet you." I said as the Scottish man grabbed my hand.

"Chibbs." He said, shaking my hand.

"Opie." said the other man, reaching for my hand that Chibbs had just let go off.

"Say, what is a fine doctor like you doing in Charming?" Chibbs asked.

"Critical case with a newborn baby boy at St. Thomas. I am a pediatric surgeon." I said.

Both Chibbs and Opie looked at Jax, who seemed to communicate something with his eyes.

"What?" I said. "You guys have women doctors around here right?"

"None as pretty as you," Opie said quickly.

Jax quickly cut in.

"I am sure Tara's fiancée would love to know she is getting hit on by a bunch of bikers, but don't worry about Opie. He has been pussy whipped by his wife since the tenth grade." Jax said.

I turned to Jax.

"How did you know I was engaged?"

He looked down at my left hand and the large princess cut diamond that adorned my ring finger.

I blushed with embarrassment.

"It happened recently, I keep forgetting I have it."

I shoved my hands in my back pocket, trying to hide the ring. It was not like I was worried about it being stolen. Sometime, I just wished I didn't have it or that it was someone different than Josh who gave it to me.

Jax looked as if he was about to say something, when one of the women cleaning the bar came up to him.

"Hey Jax," she said slyly.

"We are almost done cleaning the bar. Is there anything else you need from us?"

I looked at this woman in disbelief. If her outfit and that fact she was basically rubbing up on Jax did not scream please fuck me, it had to be the way she tried to make "cleaning the bar" sound sexy.

"Actually, I do." He said, strangely immune to the women's sex appeal. "Go in the last dorm room on the left, change the sheets, scrub the room and wash the blanket and towels that are in there. Also, go get some of the new SAMCRO gear for Tara. And wash her clothes for her. Got it, sweetheart?"

The women looked at me. If looked could kill, I would not need the crazed motorcycle gang to kill me, she would of done the job just fine.

"Sure, Jax." She said all sweetly

She stood there for another moment staring at me with daggers in her eyes.

"Now, Ima." He said again.

I had to cut in.

"Jax, it's ok. They don't have too…

Jax cut me off.

"Yes they do. I promised you I would take care of you tonight and I am. So, Ima, get on it."

Ima smiled again at Jax, but when she turned to me, I could tell there was no love loss. She and her friend made their way into the back.

"Is Gemma here?" Jax asked the guys.

"Went to the store and to St. Thomas. Said she was going to cook dinner here tonight." Opie responded.

Jax turned to me.

"Told you, hot meal." He said.

For a moment I got lost in his blue eyes. There seemed to be something behind them that I could not figure out. I forgot there were other people in the room until Chibbs coughed.

"Quiet night tonight." Opie said. "Going to go home and see the kids. It was nice to meet you Tara."

"You too, Opie."

With that, Opie nodded at Chibbs and Jax and took off out of the bar.

"Put your bag down Tara, I will give you a tour."

I put my bag down on the floor, trying not to think of spilt beer and semen that was on this floor. Jax started walking towards that back. We came to a long hallway and right in front was a light blue motorcycle.

"My dad's." Jax said. "Him and Piney founded SAMCRO. He died in a crash fourteen years ago. Opie and I restored his bike."

I looked over as Jax talked about his dad. His hard features seemed to soften.

"My mom died too. About fifteen years ago. Cancer. It's funny, once you lose a parent, you grow up instantly. No matter how young you are." I blurted out, not knowing why I open up to him.

Jax sighed.

"Ain't that the truth. Come on, we can talk about our dead parents later. Time for the nickel tour."

He led me down the hall and showed me the bathroom, gym and dorm rooms.

"This is the room you will be staying in," he said pushing the door open. Inside, Ima and her friend were cleaning, just as Jax told them.

Ima was vacuuming, while her friend was dusting the furniture. Ima's face perked up once she noticed Jax.

"Here are the sweats you wanted, Jax." Ima said stopping the vacuum and grabbing the sweats off the dresser.

"Thanks." He said taking them from her.

"Tara is going to change in my room. Take her clothes and wash them for her and bring them back here."

Ima nodded quickly.

"Of course Jax, anything you need."

When Jax turned around to walk out, Ima glanced at me.

"Bitch," she softly mouthed and turned back to her vacuum.

I was speechless. Did she think something was going to happen between me and Jax? I was just trying to make sure no here would kill me. And besides, I was engaged.

Without saying a word, I shook my head at her and went into Jax's room.

He was in the middle of changing into a clean t-shirt. I could not help but notice his rock hard abs and his defined pecs.

He noticed me staring.

"Sorry." I said, blushing.

He finished putting on his shirt.

"It's ok. You are not the first person to catch me undressing." He said with a sly smile.

I was about to respond, when Chibbs came to the door.

"Sorry to interrupt Doc, but your cell phone has been ringing." He said, handing me my phone.

"Thanks Chibbs."

I glanced down at my phone. I had fifteen missed calls from Josh, along with 10 text messages. I also noticed a call from a number I did not recognize.

"Jax, Gemma is here. Needs to talk."

"Ok."

Jax looked towards me.

"I have to take care of some stuff. There is a shower in there. It is clean and a clean towel is draped over the door. Get dressed and come back to the bar when you are ready. I'll meet you there when I am done."

He put his kutte on and walked passed me. His hand gently grazed my arm and for a moment, it felt like it was on fire.

He closed the door and left me alone in his room. It smelled strangely erotic; a mixture of air, tobacco and just Jax. I closed my eyes and breathed it in.

"Slow down there Tara," I said to myself. "Just try to make it till 6am without getting killed."

When I opened my eyes, I caught myself in his mirror. I looked like a wreck. My clothes were no longer wet, but the brown stains were now becoming dry and uncomfortable. I stripped my clothes off and made my way towards the bathroom.

* * *

The shower felt fantastic. The hot water melted away the stress I had been carrying for the best two days. I stayed under the spray for at least ten minutes, letting the water wash away my worries.

When I got out of the bathroom, I heard my phone ringing again. I also noticed that my bag now appeared on Jax's bed. I picked up the phone, knowing it was probably Josh and already had an apology planned in my head.

"Dr. Tara Knowles." I said.

"Hello Dr. Knowles. This is Dr. Namid from St. Thomas hospital. I hope I am not interrupting."

The relief that it was not Josh on the other end did not go unnoticed by me.

"No of course not. Actually my train got canceled so I am here until the morning. How can I help you?"

"I am glad you are still in Charming. The father of the patient you helped is on his way in and he wanted to discuss his case. I thought you could call in, but since you are still here."

"I can be there in twenty minutes." I said without realizing my clothes were not clean and showing up in sweats of a motorcycle gang was probably not the best idea.

"See you then." He said, hanging up the phone.

I quickly got dressed and thought that I could probably borrow some scrubs from the hospital before my meeting with the father.

I could not wait to give this guy a piece of my mind. His son was in the hospital for three days and no one showed up for him except a junkie mother. What a piece of shit.

I ran a comb through my hair and threw it up in a ponytail. I rushed out of Jax's room, towards the bar.

"Hey Chibs, is Jax here?" I asked as Chibbs was pouring himself a drink.

"He had to run out love. Said he would be back soon and I should keep you company."

I smiled. Although he looked rough, there was something calming about Chibbs.

"Actually, I need to get to St. Thomas. Issue with that boy I was brought here to help."

Chibbs raised his eyebrow.

"I will take you love." He said quickly.

"Oh, I don't want to impose. I can walk. Just tell me what direction to go."

"It is no problem at all. And I will even wait for you. Jax said you should be treated like VIP and your wish is my command.

I wanted to tell him this was not necessary, but the look on his face told me I should just shut up and say thank you.

* * *

I arrived at St. Thomas on the back of Chibb's motorcycle.

"You don't have to wait for me, I will be fine."

Chibbs climbed off the bike and unbuckled the helmet from my head.

"Trust me love, it is no problem. "

Thanking him again, I climbed off the bike and walked into the hospital.

* * *

I raced into the doctor lounge that I had stayed while I was attending to the baby boy and found a pair of scrubs. I quickly put them on and found an extra lab coat hanging in the closet. I looked in the mirror and instantly felt a million times better. I finally felt like myself. My phone rang again and for the third time in an hour, it was Josh. I just did not have the time to deal with him.

I looked at my watch. It was almost 8 pm and I quickly walked to Dr. Namid's office.

When I approached his door, I heard him talking to someone.

I quickly opened it.

"Sorry, I am late. I said closing the door behind me. "My name is … Jax?"

To my surprise, Jax and an older woman were sitting in Dr. Namid's office."

"Dr. Knowles, how do you know the patient's father?"


	4. Hour 3

**Hour 3**

"We ran into each other on the street." Jax quickly said the confidence and arrogance that was there a few hours ago, were no longer in his voice.

"I spilt my coffee on her."

I could not take my shocked eyes off of him. He was the father of that beautiful baby boy? Where the hell was he the past few days?

I could see regret and shame pooling in his face. His blue eyes were filled with such lost and despair. If I did not know any better, I would feel bad for him. But i did know better and I still wanted to slap him. He left his sick son alone, in a hospital. He should feel like shit.

"Dr. Knowles," Dr. Namid said, snapping me away from Jax and causing me to simmer down my bubbling rage.

"Can you please explain to Jax and his mother, Gemma about Abel's condition?"

"Abel?" I said, finding my voice.

"That is his name." Jax said.

"Sorry, when I was with your son for 48 straight hours, there was no one here to give him a name." I said, my words cutting Jax like a knife.

"Watch it Doc," Gemma said, coldly.

"I don't have to watch anything. Your grandson was born addicted to crank with a tear in his stomach and a broken heart. Literally, a broken heart. I held his heart in my hands and put it back together. Your son had a 20% chance of survival and that was being optimistic. So, I don't have to watch anything. You both should have been here. But you were not. And he could have died, all alone, with a junky mother who would rather fill her veins with more crank than take responsibility for her son."

I finished my diatribe by folding my arms, leaning against the wall and glaring at the both of them. Gemma did not like that.

"Who do you think…?" Gemma started to say standing up, mad that someone was questioning her precious son.

"Shut up, Mom." Jax cut in before she had the chance to finish.

Jax looked up at Gemma and as if they were communicating with their eyes, Gemma sat down.

"Tara is right. I should have been here. I wasn't. I need to live with that."

"Yes, you do." I stated.

Dr. Namid sat back in his chair. He looked at me with both disbelief and quiet admiration. I could tell he wanted to say the same thing I did. But I was leaving Charming soon, he had to stay and deal with these people.

Jax put his head in his hands.

"20%?" he asked looking at me.

Instinctively I moved a bit closer to him. I don't know why, it was almost like he was a magnet.

"He had a 20% chance of survival. I fixed his heart and the tear. Surviving the past 48 hours, I say his odds are more like 85% and that is being pessimistic." I said

Jax looked at Gemma. She gave him a small smile.

"Tellers are strong. We don't die easy," she said to him.

"No, just bloody." Jax answered, most likely referencing his father.

Jax again put his head in his hands. After a moment he looked up at me again. This time shame replaced sadness.

"Was he alone?" Jax asked.

"No, I stayed with him the whole time." I said, glaring at him.

Jax let out a long breath.

"Thank you," he said reaching for my arm.

I quickly backed away. I had to get out of there and most importantly, out of Charming.

"Dr. Namid can fill you in on the rest. It was nice meeting you Jax, Mrs. Teller."

Before anyone could say anything, I opened the door and hurried out of the office.

* * *

I should of ran right out the door and asked Chibbs to drive me back to the clubhouse so I could get myself and go back to the train station, before Jax came back. But instead, I ended up at the NICU. I had spent the past two days with Abel. I had to see him one more time.

The first time I saw him was right before surgery. I had just gotten to St. Thomas and I had already dealt with three pissed off phone calls from Josh. I was tired from the trip and did not think there was much hope for this little boy. But there was just something about him. I had never gotten this emotionally attached to a patient before. But little Abel had a hold over me. Maybe it was because no one was there waiting for him to get out of surgery. Maybe it was because his mother would rather check out than fight for him. Whatever it was, I stayed in this room with him for almost 48 straight hours. It was hard for me to say good-bye.

When I walked into the tiny room, Abel was resting in the incubator. Numerous tubes and wires surrounded him. I looked at his heart monitor and saw that he was stable. That was a good sign.

I walked over to the incubator and put my hand on the plastic hood that protected Abel from the elements. I stared at his little body and watched his chest rise with every breath

"Hey Buddy," I said.

"I know I said bye to you earlier, but a lot has happened in a few hours. "

The beep from the heart monitor let me know that he was still in there, fighting and getting stronger by the second.

"You just keep getting stronger, brave boy. I am pulling for you."

"He is a Teller. He is strong."

I turned around to see Jax standing in the door.

"How long have you been there?"

Jax stepped in and came right up to the incubator.

He put both his hands on the plastic hood.

For a moment it was like we were both scared to make a move; scared to do anything that may cause Abel any kind of discomfort.

"He is so tiny." He said.

I looked at Jax while he wiped the tears from his cheek.

"He was ten weeks premature. That is why he needs to stay in this incubator. He needs to get stronger."

Jax nodded, never taking his eyes off his son.

"I am going to go. Give you time with your son." I said backing out of the room.

"No, please don't go." He said, still staring at Abel. "I owe you an explanation."

"You don't owe me anything."

"I do," he said looking at me. "Please."

As if he had some kind of pull over me, I walked back towards the incubator.

"Where have you been?" I asked.

Jax looked down at Abel again.

"It is not important where I was. I should have been here. I should of…."

He trailed off while shaking his head.

"What about his mother?"

Jax snapped his head up and looked at me.

"Ex-wife. I filed over a year ago. We tried to reconcile a few months back but she could not stay clean. I had not heard from her in a few weeks. I did not know how bad it was."

"A friend of hers brought her in. Found her on the floor of her kitchen."

Jax closed his eyes. When he opened them again, they went right back to Abel.

"I knew who you were after you cursed me off. I mean I recognized you when you were putting me in my place. That is why I went back to the train station to look for you. " He said.

His eyes finally came up to mine; he could see I was confused.

"I showed up here last night. I saw you sleeping in the chair by the incubator."

I looked at Jax shocked.

"You were here?"

He nodded

"The nurse told me who you were and what you did to save my son. The least I could do was give you a safe place to stay tonight."

"I thought you helped all damsels in distress." I said sarcastically.

He smiled.

"Just the cute ones."

I could feel my cheeks getting warm.

"When I walked into Dr. Namid's office, he let me know that the surgeon who saved my son's life would be coming shortly. I tried to call Chibbs to see where you were, but you walked in before I could have him warn you."

Jax looked back down at Abel again.

"I stood here for a bit last night, but I guess I was just ashamed. I don't know how to be a father. My dad died when I was young. My mother is no prize. I don't want to screw this up, but I have no idea what the hell I am doing. "

I leaned over the incubator and looked at Jax.

"Who does?"

Jax looked up at me.

"I can't thank you enough for what you have done for my son. And for me."

I smiled.

"It is my job."

We stared at each other for a few moments. He was so beautiful with those blue eyes and blonde hair. The goatee and the unshaven face gave him an edge, but his eyes gave him a kindness I have never seen before.

At that moment my stomach growled, breaking us from the trance.

"Hungry?" Jax asked.

"I have not eaten much in the past few days."

He looked down at Abel again and tapped the hood.

"I'll see you tomorrow Abel." He said to his sleeping son.

He looked up at me.

"Come on; let's get back to the clubhouse. Gemma made some food."

I was about to say no, when he walked over to me and touched my arm. The electricity was there again.

Without fighting it, I followed Jax out of the NICU.

Yes, I was in serious trouble.


End file.
